WS #7600

The Iran/Strait of Hormuz crisis continues to escalate, with a drone strike on a UAE nuclear power plant and Brent crude pushing past $110/bbl. US 10-year yields hit 4.631%, the highest since Feb 2025, while European equity futures are falling (Eurostoxx -1.1%, DAX -1.0%). In corporate news, Publicis Groupe agreed to acquire LiveRamp for $2.2 billion, and Arm Holdings faces a US antitrust probe over chip tech. China's April new home prices fell 3.5% YoY (worse than March's -3.4%), with Beijing and Shenzhen showing continued weakness. Separately, a South Korean court partially accepted Samsung Electronics' injunction against a union strike, reducing near-term disruption risk. The dominant theme remains the Iran escalation, which is ESCALATING further with the drone attack on UAE nuclear infrastructure.